welcome to the club
... as for the choice of Spyder models, I understand and well appreciate your dilemma; we (missus and I) went through the same agonizing choice last year. We wound up buying a 2017 F3L. I fully expected, when we started looking, that we would buy an RTL. I turned out to be quite wrong. I had been told the RT was the only answer for 2-up riding - comfort, purpose, etc. Well, my old hips just never did feel comfortable on the RT seat; they ached within minutes of climbing aboard. However, I gave my lady the opportunity to cast the deciding vote. The ergonomics are very different. We test rode both bikes. Funnily enough, she preferred the F3; she thought it to be more comfortable and liked the passenger riding position more on the F3 than the RT. She also liked the slightly smaller bike size and felt the overall balance/performance of the F3 was better. I simply enjoyed/preferred the handling and riding comfort of the F3, even though I might have reluctantly bought an RT, in spite of my hips. So, in the end, our choice was made easier by similar feelings about comfort. You will only be able to properly decide by taking some extended test rides for yourself; take several if you can. Don't rush. One word of advice: put the money issue aside for the moment and make a truly fair comparison of the two Spyder styles. In my book, you can only fairly and equally compare an RT to the F3L. Why? Because the 2017 F3L comes with a top case (more equal storage that other F3 models don't have); it also has the automatically adjusted rear suspension that other F3 models don't have. And the rear sprocket is now the same on the F3L and the RT. The F3L is more expensive, but over the longer term you may own your bike, you will have the features that make it more truly comparable to an RT. Whichever bike you choose, we wish you well. Make that choice based on your instincts and your feelings about your personal comfort. We are staunch defenders of the claim that the F3L can be just as good a choice for 2-up riding, in total comfort and for fun riding, as an RT. But that's for you to decide. We love our F3L Spyder, ride 2-up 90% of the time, do lots of day trips anywhere from 2 - 7 hours and wouldn't trade. We're 77 and 73 years, respectively. Others, whatever their ages, may feel entirely differently. So be it. Your personal comfort is what counts, and there will be a Spyder somewhere that can provide it. Good luck. Ride safely and happily.
